Chapter 6

Olivia

My eyes open slowly, and for a while I can't work out why my neck aches so much or why my cheek is pressed against something so hard. I stare at what it is, realizing I've fallen asleep at my office desk.

I push myself upright, rubbing the stiffness from my neck before looking around the office. The lights are still on, but everyone has long since gone home, aside from the security guards making their rounds while I sit there wondering how long I've been asleep this time.

The pregnancy has been draining every bit of energy from me. No matter how hard I fight it, exhaustion always seems to win.

I rub both hands over my face and draw in a slow breath.

I can't keep doing this, I have to put myself together. This morning was humiliating enough, and the last thing I need is another disaster before I even make it out of the building.

One step at a time, Olivia. Get your laptop packed, your bag, and get out of here before anyone sees you looking like this.

I start gathering my things, sliding the laptop into its case and reaching for my bag. My hand brushes against something soft inside, and when I pull it out I find myself staring at the same worn pair of panties that messed me up this morning. I hold it between my fingers, feeling the broken elastic and the ridiculous knot I had to tie just to keep it in place.

I lift it a little higher and look at it the way someone might look at a person who has thoroughly disappointed them.

“How do you feel after embracing me in front of the worst person on earth?” I stare at the fabric. “Great, eehh?”

I tilt my head slightly, waiting as if an answer might actually come.

“Hmm,” I mutter. “Tell me.”

The silence that follows is almost insulting. I shake my head and let out a short, tired breath. “Absolutely useless. The only thing you are capable of is embracing the hell out of me. Gosh!”

I walk over to the nearest wastebin, drop the damn thing while cursing the entire morning once more as I head out of the office.

The cab moves through the streets of Mexico City while I sit in the back seat, staring out the window without really seeing anything. My mind keeps drifting back to the look on Caspian’s face this morning; that tight, irritated expression as he watched me scramble to pull my underwear back up in the middle of his office. The memory alone makes my stomach twist, and I feel like screaming.

Before I can stop myself, the scream in my head escapes my throat, causing the driver to slam on the brakes hard enough that both of us jerk forward in our seats.

He turns around quickly. “What happened?”

“Hmmm.” I look around for what to use as an excuse. “Bug. It was a bug,” I say, slapping an imaginary bug in the air.

He isn't buying it, and asks, “Where is the bug?”

“Don’t worry,” I tell him, already leaning toward the door and making a show of brushing something away. “It’s out the door.”

I continue the little performance for a few more seconds, pretending to chase the imaginary insect out of the car. From the corner of my eye I catch the driver shaking his head before he turns back around and starts driving again.

I sigh, and press my teeth into my lower lip, warning myself for what feels like the hundredth time today to get my act together before I make an even bigger fool of myself.

The cab finally stops in front of my building. I pay the driver, step out onto the sidewalk, and continue muttering under my breath about the mess this entire day has been. I am so busy cursing the world that I do not notice the figure standing near the entrance until I walk straight into a solid chest and stumble backward.

I look up and freeze. Standing right before me is Nox, and the memory of what he did flows back into my mind.

I stare at him with pure irritation and ask, “Why are you here?”

He steps closer and reaches for my hand, already saying my name in that soft, apologetic tone I used to fall for.

"Liv, please, give me five minutes, let me explain."

I pull my hand away before his fingers can close around it. "Don't."

"I've been waiting here for hours."

"Then you've wasted your afternoon."

He tries again, telling me he understands he did me wrong, that he messed up, and that the guilt is killing him.

I look him straight in the eye. “I don’t care whatever is killing you.”

“Liv, I’m sorry-—”

“Where is my money, you thief?” I stretch out my palm between us.

He opens his mouth and moves closer, but I raise my hand to his face. “Agh, hold your words. You have two weeks to return every penny I spent on you, or I will force you to.”

Nox goes to speak, but I shove him out of my path, walk past him, and push open the door to my apartment without looking back.

I close the door behind me and lean against it, letting out a long breath.

“God, what a day,” I mutter as I push myself away from the door and start unbuttoning my blouse. “First that bastard boss watching me like I’m some kind of joke, and now this ass-digger showing up at my door like he still has the right to breathe near me.”

I yank the blouse off and drop it on the floor, then reach for the zipper of my skirt.

“Two weeks,” I continue under my breath, stepping out of the skirt. “He has two weeks to return every single peso or I swear I will make his life more miserable than he made mine.”

I walk into the bathroom, reach for the small bottle of my heart medication on the shelf, and swallow the pill with the sink water before turning on the shower.

"As if one useless man wasn't enough for one lifetime," I mutter, stepping beneath the warm water. "Now I have to deal with two of them in the same day."

The warm water runs over my skin while I keep shaking my head at the entire mess. When I finally step out, I dry off, pull on a soft nightshirt, and climb into bed. Today has exhausted the hell out of me.

I reach for my phone before I let myself fall asleep, intending only to check a few emails. The screen lights up with far more notifications than I expected. Missed calls from Calista fill the list, one after another, stretching back through the afternoon.

I sit up a little straighter, frowning at the number of times she tried to reach me, then dial her number.

She answers almost immediately.

“What’s going on, Cali?” I ask. “Did the company lose someone?”

“Where the hell did you bury your phone?” she shoots back. “I’ve been calling for ages, girl.”

“I slept off on my desk,” I tell her.

There is a short pause on the other end. “What fucking desk?”

“What other desk?” I reply. “Office, of course.”

“Girl, you slept for too long, because I called you all afternoon.”

I let out a tired breath. “The pregnancy hormones. My body has been hell, and doesn’t feel like mine.” Placing my hand on my little belly bump, I ask, “So why did you call?”

“There is a team party tomorrow night,” she says, “and everyone must be present.”

I roll my eyes even though she cannot see me. “The company always has the logistics for food and drinks. Great.”

“Not the company,” she corrects me, “but our team, and that’s what makes us special.”

Something about the way she says our team was special makes us laugh because we understand that line better.

“Girl.” She stops laughing, giving me the serious vibes once again. “Caspian will be there… you know what that means?”

I roll my eyes again and answer without hesitation. “The night will be a mess.” Taking a deep breath, I add, “Goodnight, girl.”

Then end the call, and fling my phone to the side of the bed. The team party is another bad news and Caspian…Hell, Caspian.

God!... I can’t wait for the day I will finally stop seeing his face.

The thought of him being at the party tomorrow refuses to leave me. I turn onto my stomach, press my face deep into the pillow, and let out a long, muffled scream that has been waiting to escape since this morning.